Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 509,622 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 78% from the previous session’s volume of 286,247 shares.The stock last traded at $42.89 and had previously closed at $41.13.

The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 8.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Heartland Financial USA from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLF. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $55,623,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,502,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 470.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 272,767 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,028,000 after buying an additional 224,975 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,591,000 after buying an additional 88,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 166.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 88,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 1.06.

About Heartland Financial USA

Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, demand deposit accounts, NOW accounts, savings, money market, and individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.